The present invention relates to a trim cooler for cooling a drink in a drinks line and is concerned particularly, but not exclusively, with a trim cooler for cooling a drink immediately prior to serving.
It has become common practice in bars and restaurants to serve soft drinks and lagers chilled, rather than at room temperature. Such drinks are usually kept at room temperature in a cellar or other location remote from the bar and are only chilled immediately before serving. The drinks containers are connected to dispensers at the bar by drinks lines These drinks lines are wound around xe2x80x9cpythonxe2x80x9d lines which contain chilled water typically maintained at a temperature of the order 36F. As the drink passes along the drinks line from the container to the dispenser it is cooled by the adjacent python line and so arrives at the dispenser at the correct temperature. Such a system is suitable for serving drinks at temperatures of the order 5C and above.
If one wishes to serve drinks at lower temperatures then it is necessary to include a trim cooler close to the dispenser and in thermal contact with the drinks line (typically under the bar). The trim cooler receives the cooled drink from the drinks line at a temperature of the order five degrees centigrade and cools it by a further three to four centigrade.
Known trim coolers are air cooled and include fans which draw air across the condenser of the trim cooler refrigeration unit. Air cooling is relatively inefficient and large fans are required. Such fans considerably increase the size of the trim cooler unit, use a large amount of power and also generate unwanted heat.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a trim cooler for cooling a drink in a drinks line the trim cooler comprising
a refrigerator comprising an evaporator, a condenser and a compressor for circulating a cooling medium therebetween to cool the evaporator;
the evaporator being in thermal contact with the drinks line;
a coolant line in thermal contact with the condenser; and,
a coolant source connected to the coolant line and adapted to supply a liquid coolant to the coolant line.
Such a liquid cooled trim cooler does not require a fan to cool the condenser. It is therefore relatively small and so can be positioned under a bar without any significant loss of storage space. It also does not generate unwanted heat. A large number of such trim coolers can be installed below a bar without any unwanted increase in temperature in the surrounding room.
Preferably, the liquid coolant is at a temperature of less than the surrounding room temperature. By using such a chilled coolant one can increase the efficiency of the trim cooler so reducing the amount of unwanted heat generated by the cooler during use.
Preferably the liquid coolant is water.
The coolant source can be a python line adapted to supply cooled water at constant temperature. The water in the python line can therefore be used twice, once to coal the drink as the drink travels along the drinks line from the cellar to the trim cooler and then again to cool the condenser of the trim cooler. This efficient use of cooling water reduces the cost of chilling drinks to the required temperature. In addition, because the python line supplies water of a constant temperature the condenser s always maintained at a fixed temperature. The refrigeration unit can be optimised to work with a condenser at this fixed temperature. Known air cooled trim coolers mast be able to operate when being cooled by air of an unknown and variable air temperature. The trim cooler of the invention is typically two to three times more efficient than known air cooled trim coolers.
Preferably, a portion of the coolant line comprises a heat exchange tank through which the liquid coolant flows in use, a portion of the condenser being located within the heat exchange tank and being in thermal contact with the liquid coolant. This provides a simple and effective method of cooling the cooling medium in the condenser.
Alternatively, the trim cooler according to the invention further comprises a heat exchange tank, a portion of the condenser and a portion of the coolant line being located within the heat exchange tank, the condenser portion and coolant line portion being in thermal contact.
Preferably, the heat exchange tank comprises a heat exchange medium. The heat exchange medium ensures an efficient transfer of heat form the condenser to the coolant line. Preferably, the trim cooler further comprises a pump for circulating the heat exchange medium through the exchange tank. This prevents the formation of localised cold spots on the condenser.
Preferably, at least one of a portion of the coolant line and a portion of the condenser comprises a coil within the heat exchange tank. Coils increase the length of coolant line or condenser which can be arranged within the heat exchange tank so ensuring an efficient heat transfer.
The coolant line coil and the condenser coil can be coaxial.